


Unnecessary Risks

by greyone01



Series: 25 Days of Damerey 2018 [8]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 25 Days of Damerey, DameRey, F/M, Friends to Lovers, JediPilot, Kissing, Protective Poe Dameron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 17:38:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16937727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyone01/pseuds/greyone01
Summary: Despite objections of the officers under his command, Commander Poe Dameron abandoned all care to answer the Falcon's distress call. What he did not expect was its captain taking his officers' side on the matter.





	Unnecessary Risks

**Author's Note:**

> Day 8 of 25 Days of Damerey
> 
> Stand alone, but this takes place about a year after Accepting the Torch (previous work in this series).

The Falcon had already landed by the time Poe Dameron’s borrowed X-Wing swooped into the hangar. He finally let out the breath he didn’t knew he was holding as he went through the motions of the shutdown sequence, adrenaline fast giving way to relief. “You got this, buddy?” he asked his astromech as the X-Wing’s canopy started to rise above his head. BB-8 beeped affirmative, happily latching onto the task that he routinely did whenever the pair of them get back on base.

There was only one person waiting for him on the ground, apart from the ground crew assigned to see to the X-Wing. Poe took off his helmet and approached her with a grateful smile. “Thanks for letting me use your ship, Kare.”

She nodded, giving him a soft smile. “I don’t necessarily agree with your actions, Dameron, but I understand where you’re coming from. I would’ve done the same thing if it was Snap out there.”

“Let’s hope you never have to do that,” Poe replied somberly. “They’re all still upset with my stunt, aren’t they?”

Kare shrugged. “Of course they are, but they’re the least of your worries. You came through unscathed and you brought the Falcon back. Your officers will get over it. I have already gotten over it.” She nodded to the direction of the Falcon. “You have a bigger battle ahead of you, Commander.”

“She’s still in there?”

“Finn gave me the heads up. It wasn’t only your officers who were unhappy with what you did.”

“Maybe I should put my helmet back on,” Poe remarked wryly. “Thanks again, Kare. I think it’s time for me to face the music now.”

“May the Force be with you, Commander,” Kare called as she watched Poe walk towards the Falcon. “You’ll need the Force on your side for this one, I reckon.”

*****

If Kare hadn’t told him that Rey was still in the Falcon, Poe would’ve thought that the legendary ship was empty. The only sounds he could hear as he walked up the boarding ramp were the sound of his boots on the steel floors and the creaks of the ship as he navigated his way into it. The cockpit’s lights were still on, but it was empty. So were the captain’s quarters and the small living area. He made his way to the engine room, which he also found empty. He paused, trying to think of where else to check. 

“Why would you do that?”

Her voice snapped Poe out of his reverie. “I couldn’t just sit back and let them destroy you.”

“You could’ve sent one of your Black Squadron pilots,” Rey pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest. “That was very unnecessary, what you just did.” If looks could kill, Poe would’ve been long dead.

“Unnecessary?!” Poe repeated incredulously. He had been prepared to face a furious Rey, but what he wasn’t prepared for the way his blood started to boil in anger. “I just saved your life, your crew’s lives and this ship, and you think that was all unnecessary?”

“No,” Rey said coolly. “I didn’t say that at all. But you having to do that was. As I’ve said, that task could’ve been just as easily accomplished by one of your pilots. You going out there and doing it yourself was unnecessary.”

“You’re welcome,” Poe spat back sarcastically. “I’ll remember that next time you’re in trouble and come calling for help.”

“You’re not really getting it, are you?”

“Explain it to me then.”

Rey stared at him, as if sizing him up. “You’re the kriffing head of the Resistance now, Poe! It’s been, what, almost a year now! And you’re in that position because these people put you there – they wanted you there. You don’t repay that trust by actions like what you did today.” She paused to catch her breath, as if trying to calm herself. In a softer tone, she went on. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but did not every single one of your officers objected to your decision to hop onto that X-Wing and fly out?”

Poe tore his gaze of hers and ran a hand through his hair. He did not know how to respond to that, of course, she was right. A tense silence hung between them, Rey waiting for his answer, and Poe debating with himself as to how much he should tell her. He took a shaky breath and allowed his shoulders to drop in defeat. “No, you’re not wrong,” he finally conceded. “Every one of them was against it. Even Kare, although she did say that while she was against my decision, she understood. Which was why she let me take her fighter.”

“Poe.” Rey’s anger seemed to have gone as well. She crossed the distance between them, stopping just in front of him. She laid her hand on his chest. “You’re much too important now to be risking your life for things like this. The Resistance may be stronger now than it was a couple of years ago, but if you had died out there today, everything we have worked so hard for will just fall apart.”

“I couldn’t just sit back and let them destroy you,” Poe repeated the words he said at the beginning of their conversation, covering her hand with his. “And you’re just as important as I am to the Resistance. If YOU had died out there today, everything we have worked so hard for will just fall apart.” He decided to lay it all out there. “I will have fallen apart. When your distress call came through, I knew I had to go out there. You can call me out for being a bad leader, but I wasn’t even thinking about the Resistance when I made that decision.”

Rey’s breath hitched when his other hand went to her cheek. “I couldn’t just sit back and let them destroy you,” Poe said again, his thumb caressing her cheek. “The Resistance, the cause – they are still important to me, but they don’t hold up to what you mean to me.” He leaned slowly towards her, giving her time to back out if she wanted to. Instead, she closed her eyes and waited with bated breath for his lips to settle on hers. Instinctively, she followed the slow movements of lips, her body moving to press closer against his. Poe removed his hand from hers, slipping his arm around her waist to hold her close. They kissed unhurriedly, not much different to how they let their feelings for each other grow over time.

“Remember that talk we had on Life Day’s eve?” Poe whispered breathlessly when they finally broke apart. Rey nodded, not trusting her voice. “We agreed to run this show together,” Poe continued. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost you today. I know for sure I won’t be able to continue living in any capacity if I lost you.”

Rey surged up for another kiss, the kiss this time with a hint of desperation and anguish, wanting to tell him what she couldn’t in words. Her message wasn’t lost on him, and soon she found herself deliciously sandwiched between him and the wall, the kiss fast becoming more heated and wanting. Eventually, the need for air ended their kiss. 

And, Poe apparently was not yet done talking. “When you said that night that we might be able to pull this off together, I think that was the moment I started falling for you,” he confessed. 

“I think I may have fallen a little bit in love with you that night, too,” Rey admitted. “You made me feel important and valued. You even made me feel beautiful.”

Poe gave her a tender kiss on the forehead. “We started a good partnership that night. Think you’re ready to extend that beyond Resistance business?”

“It wasn’t just the Resistance or the cause that was making me stay,” she whispered. “It was at the start, but it hasn’t been for a while now. I stayed because of you. So, yes, I’m with you if you want us to be partners in other ways.”

“I’d love for us to be partners in every way,” Poe declared empathically. “Why else would I pull stunts like hopping on an X-Wing to blow up TIEs for you?”

Rey rolled her eyes. “I’ll let this one pass, because you’re such a good kisser,” she teased. “But, seriously, promise me you’ll stop taking unnecessary risks.”

“I promise,” Poe vowed. “But we seem to have different definitions of unnecessary. We should work on that.”

“Hmm,” Rey nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “We should, but let’s do that later. Now, I really would just like for us to work on the kissing aspect of this partnership.”

“I thought you just said I’m such a good kisser,” Poe raised an eyebrow, as he allowed Rey to pull him close.

“You are, but I think I need practice to improve,” she murmured, her lips ghosting over his.

“Not that you need improvement, but I’m more than happy to practice with you,” Poe replied, following her lead in letting their lips ghost over the other as they talked.

“Good. We’d best get going then and get some work done before your officers kill you for what you did today.” She looked at him expectantly, as if waiting for another comment from him.

Poe Dameron, however, was finally done talking.


End file.
